Pizzeria coming to K Street

Pizza Autentica is the latest in a slew of new restaurants

by Audrey Scagnelli Hatchet Reporter

Foggy Bottom will welcome a new budget-friendly pizza restaurant this summer, adding to the list of new eateries that will be popping up in the neighborhood in the coming months.

Pizza Autentica will open its ninth D.C.-area location at 2121 K St. - near the site of some GW classrooms - this June. It will join six other restaurants in The Avenue development across from GW Hospital, as well as celebrity chef Bobby Flay's burger restaurant, as one of many new establishments in the area.

D.C.'s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs was unable to provide data on the number of new restaurants coming to the area by deadline, but a slew of restaurants have announced upcoming Foggy Bottom locations in the last year. Marissa Bialecki, the author of Bon Appetit Foodie and a former Hatchet staff writer, said D.C. is becoming a go-to place for foodies.

"D.C. as a whole is experiencing a lot of growth on the restaurant scene... it will be very interesting to see how it changes and grows even more in the next few years," Bialecki said.

Serving hefty slices and homemade Italian gelato, the pizzeria will open its doors at 7 a.m. and stay open until midnight. A breakfast menu will also be available.

Excited by the downtown Foggy Bottom location, Pizza Autentica owner Hakan Ilhan said he was drawn to 2121 K St. in part because of the close proximity to GW.

Ilhan said he is hoping to accept GWorld cards and will be contacting GW officials shortly to discuss logistics.

"Our slice - we call it a jumbo slice - and drinks are under $4," Ilhan said.

As for Bobby's Burger Palace - Flay's restaurant also opening at the 2121 K St. location - the menu is representative of regional favorites across the country, featuring an avocado-topped "L.A. Burger" and a barbecue-drenched "Dallas Burger."

Diners can choose to "crunchify" any burger, and BBP's signature handful of chips will be placed between burger and bun.

Restaurants at The Avenue are under construction and some may open this spring. The eateries include Sweetgreen, Devon & Blakely, Roti, District Commons and a restaurant called Burger, Tap and Shake.